


Things We Do

by j_gabrielle



Category: Hannibal (TV), Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Age Differences, Angst, Crossover, Established Relationship, Insecurities, M/M, Marriage Counselling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-06
Updated: 2013-06-06
Packaged: 2017-12-14 03:12:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/832043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/j_gabrielle/pseuds/j_gabrielle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Done for this post on <a href="http://everythingbutsterek.tumblr.com/post/45443778065/this-looks-like-an-entirely-unwilling-couple">Tumblr</a></p><p>Hopefully this satisfies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

They sit on opposite ends of the couch, not that there was much space to escape to. Scott McCall-Argent fidgets, eyeing the tall glass window like he would just like to jump out and avoid the ensuing conversation that is sure to follow.

Hannibal hopes the child would not be stupid enough to _actually_ do it.

He is observing them, as per a court-mandated order that they attend and fulfil a compulsory 30 hours of couple’s therapy. Normally, he wouldn’t even consider taking on these kinds of cases (they don’t even live in Baltimore), but he owes the therapist in charge a favour.

Besides, he makes weekly trips to Los Angeles anyways.

Chris, the other spouse, looks at everything in the office but him and the boy next to him. Uncomfortable, tensed and coiled for confrontation. There is an emotion there that is etched into every line of both men in front of him, but for some reason Hannibal cannot make it out. He wonders how they’d managed to keep from killing each other on the drive over. They keep as much distance as they can between them, but it is clear that it is a front and both are aching for contact. Hannibal is intrigued.

“Gentlemen, I thank you for taking the time to come out here for your therapy session.” It is thinly veiled, but Hannibal can see the simultaneous thoughts of ‘Not like we have any choice’. “It is my understanding that you both have… Some unresolved issues, shall we say?” Raising his eyebrows, he steeples his fingers, leaning back into his own chair.

Chris laughs bitterly, and crosses his arms in front of him. His blue eyes flick to meet Hannibal’s. “’Unresolved issues’? Okay. Let’s go with that.”

The younger of the two remains mute on the subject, and in the corner of his eye, Hannibal can see him fiddling with the gold band on his left ring finger. His lips are pressed into a thin line, eyes downcast. He looks handsome in a foppish, boy-band sort of way, in contrast to his husband who looks more suited to works suited to construction and building.

“Who would like to start?”

Mentally, Hannibal reviews their case file; in this year alone, Chris (allegedly) had tried to run Scott over with his car and the boy managed to jump out of the way in time for the car to slam into a pole while Scott had thrown (again _allegedly_ ) his bike through the porch door and not allegedly (witnessed by many) _both_ of them have on multiple occasions caused public disturbance with their increasingly frequent (and increasingly violent) arguments. That was not counting the one time their domestic dispute had ended up in a brawl. In the middle of the mall. On a Sunday afternoon.

Hence, the court mandated counselling session.

Scott sighs, opening his mouth to speak but is immediately cut from whatever he wants to say by his husband. “I am the father of Scott’s first girlfriend.”

Okay. Did not see that one coming.

Hannibal successfully hides his surprise at that confession. Chris continues, “I have never approved of their relationship, _not_ because I had feelings for him,” He regards Hannibal coolly. “But because she was my only daughter and no father likes their daughter’s boyfriends. He was a decent kid, even then. I just di—“

“See? See?! There you go again with ‘he’s a kid’, ‘my daughter’s boyfriend’!” Scott shouts suddenly, angrily launching into a rant. “You’re always doing this! Always looking down on me, always putting me down! You-You always make me _feel_ like I’m not worthy or something. You make me feel… inadequate. Like I’m not worth anything to you…”

Chris frowns, straightening himself. “Putting you down?”

“Yes! We don’t even _live_ together because you want to ‘give us some space’.” He air-quotes sarcastically. “I can’t see you, much less sleep in the same bed as my husband! My mother had to find out that I was _married_ and _changed_ my name legally in arraignment!”

Hannibal mirrors Chris’ body posture. “Gentlemen.” The warning clear in his voice.

Scott simmers down, slumping back in his seat. His front bangs hide his suspiciously wet eyes and he catches Chris stealing looks at his husband.

Silence reigned in the room as the little tinkle of the alarm sounds.

“Well, I shall see you in two weeks then?” He stands, walking the McCall-Argents out.

Hannibal wonders if he is imagining it, but Chris seem to be walking a tad bit closer to Scott than he did when they first came in.


	2. Chapter 2

In their next appointment, Scott is mysteriously absent. Chris seems apologetic enough, convincing enough with his excuses, but Hannibal knows that he is lying. It takes one to know one, after all.

“Do you have anything you’d like to talk about? While we’re here?”

Chris purses his lips, carrying the air of a man choosing his words carefully. “The last time we were here, Scott… Scott said that I make him feel like he wasn’t worth anything? It’s… It’s the last thing I want him to feel about himself. If anyone is feeling inadequate, it’s me. I feel like I am never doing enough for him.” He ducks his head, the faint light of the afternoon sun catching on his hair.

“When I first kissed Scott, I thought it was just something to get it out of my system. I’ve always had a feeling he wanted it to, so we kissed. By that point, he’d been all I could think of. I meant what I said, that I had never wanted to touch him when Allison, my daughter, was with him in a relationship. I didn’t even feel that way about him until after he came to me after Allison’s… accident. I thought I would never feel that way about anyone besides my late wife, much less for a boy that could be my _son_.” A pause, “I… I never meant to hurt him. Ever.” He looks up; the dark smudges under his eyes stark against the paleness of his skin, elbows braced on his knees. “It’s the last thing I would ever want to do. I just… I _love_ him. So much and I… I don’t know how to tell him that I am scared.”

“Scared?”

Chris nods. “Scared for him because it is obvious that between the two of us… I’ll always be the one that leaves him behind. Scared because I won’t be enough for him in the end and that he will want more than I can give him. Scared… Scared that I will let him go without a fight if he wants to leave me.” The last part is said in nothing more than a whisper. “I don’t think my heart can stand it if he left.”

Hannibal lets him sigh, waiting before asking, “Tell me about when you married him.”

If he is surprise at the change of subject, he does not show it. “We eloped. I asked him to marry me over dinner one night after he’d turned 18 and Allison had just left for college. They had broken up long before that, but even then we didn’t want to make it obvious what we really wanted. We had planned for a trip to Vegas, but we didn’t want to wait. We got married in a church in Hollywood one weekend after his birthday.”

He smiles in the memory. “We didn’t tell anyone where we were going, just woke up that morning and drove. I got our rings while he went to buy breakfast. I think he’d been half expecting to marry me without them.” His smile widened, eyes distant and reliving a memory that is clearly precious to him. “He looked so handsome. I couldn’t believe he was going to be mine.”

“Sounds like a wonderful day.”

“It was. And still is, to be honest.” Chris admits, “I’ve always wanted to do another wedding. This time with his friends and family in attendance. I feel like I made him miss out on something. He had always had to hide when it came to us, and he… Well, you’d seen him the other day. Scott wears his heart on his sleeves.”

“Perhaps he feels like he needs to hide because you have never shown that you are open to publicly acknowledging your relationship?” Hannibal tries, “Would you be open to trying a couple of exercises?”

Chris is silent for a minute, before leaning forward in his seat. “I’m listening.”

 

 

Chris misses their next scheduled appointment, and Hannibal has to wonder how did Scott get here by himself. The older man and he have been in contact over the passing weeks, but Hannibal is not inclined to reveal their conversations to Scott.

“How are you?”

The question makes him jump in his seat. Scott’s eyes widen (boy-band, definitely), blushing adorably like a naughty child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“Er. Fine. Thanks.” He answers, voice clipped. “Just fine.”

“Would you like to tell me why you missed our last session?”

Scott smiles at that, apologetic. “Not really, no.”

The corners of Hannibal’s lips twitch upwards. So there is more to this boy than his foppish, puppy like demeanour. Briefly, he wonders if Will would adopt him if he were a lost dog.

“How are things between you and Chris?”

Scott blushes at that. “It’s been different. Really different.” His hand closes over his wedding ring, twiddling it. A nervous gesture, Hannibal notes.

“He has been… I don’t think he has ever been this. He’s never been the romantic type.” He huffs, “I know that… But.”

“But?”

The young man stands up, beginning to pace. “He invited my mom, my best friend, his dad, my best friend’s boyfriend, my-my _ex_ … He called them over for dinner at his house and asked my mother if he could marry me.” He pauses, wrapping his arms around his body. “It’s a little too late for that, but it didn’t keep my mother from being surprised, and he told her that if she wanted, she could come stay with us and that we would sleep in separate rooms until she was assured that he wasn’t going to hurt me.”

Walking over to the windows, “He… Has never hurt me. Never. Despite what people may think, I can make my own decisions and I chose to marry him because I love him. I wanted to. Derek,” At the look from Hannibal, he clarifies, “my best friend Stiles’ boyfriend told me I was being stupid. I am not. I know what I was getting into.”

Hannibal rises from his seat, “Has anyone made to imply that you were being coerced into this relationship?”

Scott is silent, and it is an answer all in itself. “That dinner was awful.” He says quietly. “My ex cornered me and asked me if I had ever cheated on her while we were together. I told her no, but something tells me that she isn’t going to forgive me anytime soon.”

“Do you regret being with Chris?”

Scott shakes his head. “I could never regret him. He’s one of the best decisions I have ever made for myself.” Looking back at Hannibal, “I just… I am floored by the way he asked my mother for my hand like I’m some kind of girl.” He quirks a smile at that. “My mother actually told me afterwards that she had been contemplating unleashing her mother-in-law fury on him for eloping with me.”

Hannibal smiles, “And did she?”

“She just took him aside and gave him a talking down. Just told him to take care of her baby.” Something sad flickers through his soft eyes.

“You said in our previous session that you felt inadequate when you’re with him. Do you think he does that intentionally?”

“I don’t think he does it _consciously_. He just… He is so mature, and wise. I feel like a child when I am with him. I try to be his equal, but all I end up doing is failing spectacularly!” He gestures wildly with his hands. “I want him to be proud of me. That’s all I have ever wanted, what I always needed. Chris makes these grand gestures of coming out to those closest to me, and that’s good and all, but I don’t need them. I just want him to be happy with me, to be proud of his husband.” He sits down, staring at his upturned palm forlornly.

“Have you tried talking to him?”

“Do you think he’ll listen?” Scott whispers. “I threw a bike in his door because he applied to colleges in New York on my behalf, and we fought in the middle of a Sunday shopping rush because he brought up the subject of me going away for a summer programme.” Softer, “I don’t want to leave him, don’t want to leave my mom either.”

Hannibal comes closer, “I think you’d be surprised at what people are capable of doing for the ones we love. Just talk to him.”

Scott remains silent until the alarm rings.


	3. Chapter 3

The McCall-Argent couple are early for their appointment. Hannibal watches them carefully as they take their seat on the couch. There’s a certain difference in the air.

“We, uh, we got married. Again.” Scott says, blushing slightly. “In the backyard of our new house.”

“Everyone was there. His friends and family, and… some of mine.” Chris continues, pausing only slightly. Hannibal notices the way he hesitated, but does not mention it. “We had a barbeque, everyone was appropriately imbibed and there was a lot of singing and dancing.”

“My congratulations.” Hannibal offers.

“Thank you.” Chris says, knocking his knee against Scott’s.

“Will there be a honeymoon?”

Scott grins, wide and happy. “We’re going to Disneyland next week. It’s not the most popular honeymoon destination, but it _is_ the happiest place on Earth, so we’re going there.”

Chris laughs, “He’s never been there, and as a compromise, we’re going to Budapest next month for my part of the honeymoon.”

Hannibal leans back in his chair, picking up his pen. Scribbling on his notepad as he watches the couple in front of him chatter along excitedly about their honeymoon plans and the souvenirs they plan to bring home for their seemingly never ending list of family and friends.

At the end of the session, they rise and thank him for his advices, saying that they look forward to their next session. Chris leads Scott out with a hand on the small of his back. Just as they pass the door, Hannibal stops Chris, handing him an envelope.

“As a belated wedding gift.” Hannibal inclines his head slightly, smiling. Chris takes one look of it, looking back to the doctor’s eyes.

“Thank you.”

The papers will cancel the remaining hours of their mandatory sessions, nulling them in the face of ‘satisfactory progress’. Hannibal sincerely hopes that that progress will hold.

 

 

 

[end.]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic was done in an hour. Any discrepancies or mistakes are all mine, and mine alone.


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